New York Mets Fire GM Jared Porter For Sending Explicit, Unsolicited Texts To Reporter

On Tuesday morning, the New York Mets fired their general manager Jared Porter. This firing came the day after ESPN reported that Porter sent unsolicited, explicit text messages and images to a female reporter in 2016. During this time, Porter was working for the Chicago Cubs in their front office.

The news of the firing broke on Tuesday as new team owner Steve Cohen tweeted that the Mets “have terminated Jared Porter this morning.” Cohen, 64, decided less than twelve hours after ESPN’s story broke, which described the graphic messages between Porter and the reporter.

Mets president Sandy Alderson, who made the hire of Porter last month, sent out a statement last night that said he spoke to Porter. “We [The Mets] will follow up as we review the facts regarding this serious issue.”

Alderson said it was the first time he had learned about the situation. Then, early Tuesday morning, Alderson released another statement that confirmed Porter’s firing.

“The New York Mets have terminated General Manager Jared Porter, effective immediately. Jared’s actions, as reflected by the events disclosed last night, failed to meet the Mets’ standards for professionalism and personal conduct.”

Porter, 41, was hired as the Mets GM in mid-December to work under Alderson in new owner Cohen’s front office. Porter joined the Mets from Arizona, where he served as the Diamondbacks’ senior vice president and assistant GM since 2017.

Before that, Porter was employed by the Boston Red Sox, where he worked up from intern to pro scouting director. He then joined the Chicago Cubs’ organization in 2015 as director of professional scouting. It was with the Cubs that Porter began texting the anonymous female reporter.

According to ESPN, the text relationship started casually until it got out of hand with compliments, texts inviting the woman to various cities, and photos of Porter’s bulge in the groin area. At one point, she ignored more than 60 messages from him before he sent a lewd photo of his genitals.

She responded, “This is extremely inappropriate, very offensive, and getting out of line. Could you please stop sending offensive photos or msg.”

The female reporter was a foreign correspondent who moved to the United States to cover Major League Baseball.

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